Bed-motion for traveling beds.



Patented Det. 3|, |899. G. F. READ.

BED MOTION FOR TRAVELING BEDS.

(Application filed June 2, 1898.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

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BED MOTION FOR TRAVELING BEDS.

(Application led June 2, 1898.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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' UNITED STAT-Es PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE F. READ, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ROBERT HOE, THEO- DOREH. MEAD, AND CHARLES W. CARPENTER, OF SAME PLACE.

BED-'MOTION FOR TRAVELING BEDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 635,978, dated October31, 1899 Application filed June 2, 1898. Serial No. 682,334. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. READ, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Bed-Movements forTraveling Beds, fully described and represented in the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thesame.`

This invention relates to improved means for controlling the movement oftraveling beds.

In certain classes of machines employing traveling beds, moreparticularly in plateprinting machines, it has been customary to causethe bed to move in an angular pathas, for instance, about the sides of arectangle. Difficulty has been experienced, however, in controlling themotion of the bed at the point of change of direction in its movement.At this point, as it is no longer guided by the ways and is under theiniiuence of the driving power, which is usually a chain or similardevice attached to it at or near itsA bed back into its proper positionas well as cause it to move ahead.V Attempts have been made to overcomethis tendency by locating spring guides or buers upon or in proximity tothe outer one of the ways upon which the bed travels; but the operationof such devices has not been satisfactory. The bed still enters the nextguideway or assumes its next line of movement in an angular position,and the injurious shock and strain before referred to are not done awaywith.

The object of this invention is to control the movement of the bed atthe point of its change of direction with absolute certainty, therebycausing it to enter itsnext guideway or assume its next line of movementin a proper position so that it will begin its movement along a rightline instead of having to be swung into a right line by the drivingdevices.

With this object in view the invention conthe. bed travels.

sists in certain parts, improvements, and combinations, which will behereinafter fully described, and then pointed out in the claims hereuntoappe'nded.

In the accompanying drawings, which constitute a part 'of thisspecification, Figure l is a plan view of a traveling-bed machine withthe improved controlling devices attached thereto. Fig. 2V is asectional view taken on the line oc of Fig. l.

In the machine which illustrates the preferred embodiment of theinvention, A A indica-te the ways upon which the bed travels and bywhich it is guided in its right-line movement. In the machine shownthese ways form rectangles; but it is obvious that the Ways might formany other polygonal figure. These Ways are formed on or are supported onthe frame of ,the machine in any desired manner.

C indicates a chain to which the bed B is secured in any convenientmanner, usually by making one of the link-pins long and attaching it tothe bottom plate of the bed at or near its center, though any other formof attachment may be selected. The chain C is driven by means of asprocket-wheel E, which is mounted on a shaft F, to which power isapplied in any convenient or desired manner. The'driving-sprocket E ispreferably located at the angle in the ways or at the point where thebed in its movement changes its direction. At each of the other anglesin the ways similar sprocket-wheels E are located, but only one of thesewheels need be driven. The shaft F has mounted upon it a gear-wheel G,which engages an intermediate I-I, preferably suitably mounted upon astud K,which is supported in the frame of the machine. The intermediateH meshes with a gear I, which is mounted upon a short shaft L, alsohaving its bearings in the frame of the machine at or about the angle ofthe inner way upon which Upon the upper end of the 95 shaft L is locateda guiding-pinion M. This guiding-pinion M preferably has the same numberof teeth as the sprocket-wheel E and engages with a stud N, which islocated at the inner corner of the bed and, as herein shown, roo betweenthe parts of the bed. The pinion G and the pinion I have the same numberof teeth, and consequently the shaft L moves at the same speed as theshaft F, and the guiding-pinion M moves at the same speed as thesprocket-wheel E. It will of course be understood that one of theseguiding-pinions will be located at each point of change of direction inthe movement of the bed.

lVhen the bed reaches the angle in the ways and is about to change thedirection of its movement, the stud N is engaged by the teeth of theguiding-pinion M. Thereafter in its movement the bed is steadied andpositively controlled by the guiding-pinion, the teeth of which act tocarry it around the angle or point where its direction of movementchanges. It will be observed that the bed is thus positively controlledat two points-wiz., at the point where the power is applied and at thepoint where the teeth of the guidingpinion catch it-in contradistinctionto the devicesheretofore adopted which do not exercise a positivecontrolling action upon it, and it is thus caused to pass from oneguidway to the next or assume its next line df movement without theobjectionable swinging or swiveling action before described. i

O indicates an impression-cylinder, which is suitably mounted in ltheordinary bearings (indicated at P) and driven in any suitable orconvenient way, as by a belt-pulley, which is indicated in dotted linesin Fig. 1. 5

Vhile the bed is shown as driven by a sprocket and chain, it might ofcourse ble driven in any other suitable and convenient way. lVhile alsothe power for driving the sprocketchain is shown as applied to the shaftof the sprocket-wheel E,it might be applied in any other convenientmanncr-as, for instance, by a sprocket-wheel located `intermediate thepoints at which the bed changes the direction of its movement. While,furthermore, the best results are secured by providing theguiding-pinion M with teeth cor-l responding in number and arrangementto those on the sprocket E, it is obvious that such an arrangement ofteeth is not n ecessary. The number of teeth on the guiding-pinion maybe varied, so long as the guiding-pinion is of the same pitch-diameteras and moves at the same rate of speed as the sprocket-Wheel E. lVhile,too, it is deemed preferable t0 lo- Y cate the guiding-pinion at theangle of the inner way and cause its teeth to engage apin upon the bed,it is obvious that it might be arranged so that the teeth would engagethe corner of the bed itself instead of a pin thereon. So, too, it isobvious that the pinion might be located elsewhere than at the angle ofthe inner way. It might, for instance, be located at the angle of theouter way, in which case, of course, the location of the pin upon thebed will be changed to correspond with the position of the pinion.Various other locations of the pinion are also possible, the essentialfeature of the invention being to s0 locate the pin and pinion that thebed as it changes its course of direction will be controlled at twopoints. Devices other than the guiding-pinion may also be used to directand control the bed in its movements, as the invention in its scopecomprehends, broadly, the idea of controlling the movement of a bed uponsubstantially parallel ways which lie in substantially the same plane bypositive controlling devices which act'upon the bed at two points as itchanges its direction of movemen t, thus preventing any swiveling orswinging action ot' the bed and causing it to move truly around theangle of the ways. lVhile the invention is shown as applied to the bedof a plate-printing machine,it is obvious that it is not restricted tosuch an application, but may be used in any form of machine where it isdesired to canse the bed to travel in an angular path, and that,too,whether the ways form a closed polygonal ligure or not.

What is claimed is- 1. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, thecombination with the bed, of substantially parallel angular waystherefor lying in substantially a single plane, and devices for exertinga positive controlling action upon the bed at two points as it changesits direction of movement, substantially as described.

2. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, the combination with the bed,of angular ways therefor lying in substantially a single plane, meansfor causing and controlling its movement acting upon a given point onthe bed, and a moving controlling device acting at another point on thebed as it changes its direction of movement, substantially as described.

3. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, the combination with the bed,of angular Ways therefor lying in substantially a single plane, and amoving controlling device located at the point of change of direction inthe movement of the bed and exertinga positive controlling action uponthe bed, substantially as described.

4E. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, the combination with the bed,of angular ways upon which it travels, and a controlling device locatedat the angle of the inner way, substantially as described.

5. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, the combination with the bed,of angular ways upon which it travels, and a moving controlling devicelocated at the angle of the inner way, substantially as described.

6. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, the combination with the bed,of angularl Ways, means for causing the bed to travel upon the ways, anda moving controlling device located at the angle of the inner way andhaving a movement corresponding to the movement of the bed-drivingdevices, substantially as described.

7. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, the combination with the bed,of angular ways, means, as a chain and sprocket, for

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causing the bed to travel on said ways, and

the inner way and moving at a speed corresponding to that of thedriving-sprocket, substantially as described.

8. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, the combination with the bed,of angular ways, means, as a chain and sprocket, for causing the bed totravel on said ways, and a controlling device located at an angle of oneof the ways and moving at a speed corresponding to that of thedriving-sprocket, substantially as described.

9. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, the combination with the bed,of angular ways upon which' it travels, means, as a sprocket and chain,for causing the bed to travel upon the Ways, a guiding-pinion located atthe point of change of direction in the movementof the bed for engagingand controlling the bed in its movement, and means for driving theguiding-pinion, substantially as described.

l0. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, the combination with the bed,of angular ways upon which it travels, means, as a sprocket and chain,for causing the bed to travel upon theways, a guiding-pinion located atthe angle of the inner way for engaging and controlling the bed in itsmovement, and means for driving the guiding-pinion from the shaft of thesprocket-wheel and at the same rate of speed as the sprocket-wheel,substantially as described.

l1. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, the combination with thebed,of angular Ways, means, as a chain and sprocket, for causing the bedto travel upon the ways, a guidingpinion located at the angle of theinner Way and driven from the shaft of the sprocketwheel, and a pin uponthe bed with which said guiding-pinion engages, substantially asdescribed.

12. In a bed-movement for traveling beds,

the combination with the bed,of angular ways, a driving-sprocket locatedat the point where the bed changes its direction of movement, a chainengaging said sprocket and suitably connected to the bed, a pinion onthe shaft of the sprocket-Wheel, a guiding-pinion located at the pointof change of direction in the movement of the bed, and gearing betweenthe shaft of said guiding-pinion and the pinion upon the shaft of thesprocket-wheel, substantially as described.

13. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, the combination with a bed, ofways upon which the bed travels, said ways having a plurality of anglestherein, and a guiding device located at each of the angles of the innerway, substantially asdescribed.

14E. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, the combination with waysupon which the bed travels, said ways having a plurality of anglestherein, a sprocket-wheel located at each of the said angles, a movingcontrolling device located at each of the angles of the inner way, andmeans whereby the controlling devices are caused to move in unison withthe sprocket-Wheels, substantially as described.

15. In a bed-movement for traveling beds, the combination with the bedB, of angular Ways A A', the chain C, driving-sprockets E located ateach of the angles of said Ways, intermediates H, pinions I andguiding-pinions M, said guiding-pinions being located at the angles ofthe inner Ways, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

GEORGE F. READ. Witnesses:

JAMES Q. RICE, T. F. KEHOE.

